Wolf Children: Following Days
by Mehitsuji
Summary: Life continues for Hana and the children after the events of the movie. This is a tale of what happens after the finale, picking up a year after the transpired events. Rather than one story, it'll be several counts of Hana's life, featuring the town, her home life, her beloved, and her children: Yuki and Ame.
1. Chapter 1: Tomorrow

Winter had come once again. The dark came early, and clouds covered the sky. It was going to snow soon.

Hana sat at the wooden table under a dim light. She ran her fingers over a sheet of stationery, a wide smile on her face. Looking up at the photo of her beloved, her eyes twinkled with joy. This was the first winter after she was left alone in that house in the countryside. And this would be the first winter her daughter would come visit.

"She sent another letter," Hana almost laughed. "It's winter break, so she'll be coming home to visit." Her gaze fell onto the stationery once again, her eyes rereading the words. She warmly read them aloud:

"'Dear Mom,

I hope you've been doing well since my last letter. To update you on what's happened from before, turns out Michiko wasn't angry at me, she was just upset at her situation. Thanks for the advice in your last letter— it practically saved me.'"

Hana giggled and continued:

"'I'll tell you more about the details later. I can't wait to come home. I've missed you very much. I have so much to tell you. Much more than I could ever say in a letter, or a phone call. I'll come and see you very soon.

With much love,

Yuki.'"

Hana's smile grew wider, and she folded the letter and put it on the shelf beside her love. She stopped in front of him, her eyes cast downward in reflection. "I wonder how much she's grown." She began. "What new things she's learned, the friends she's made. How different she's become..." It's been a year since she's seen her last, at the airport to Yuki's boarding school. "She spent her summer away, she turned fourteen on her own, and now she's coming back." Hana laughed. "It's not like she went off to a university, but, wow, does it feel like it." Her eyes returned to the license. "Well, I won't find out anything until tomorrow, huh." She turned her gaze to look outside.

Tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2: Snowfall

The next day, Hana woke up bright and early. It was an especially chilly morning. She reckoned it might snow later that day. She washed her face, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. While cooking the rice, she craned her neck out the doorway to look at her love's picture. After she finished cooking, she brought all of the food to the table. Looking at it, she realized she made enough for four.

"Ah," she said in surprise. "I guess I was so excited I didn't realize..." She sight contentedly and offered a rice ball on a plate to the children's father. "Well, this is fine. Maybe Yuki's ravenous appetite has returned." She chewed thoughtfully. "Maybe it isn't even enough, now that I think about it."

Hana's thought were interrupted by the sound of a car engine. She turned to see one of the townsfolk, Hosokawa, leave his car and approach the porch. The senior rubbed his hands in the cold and called out. "Good mornin', Missy."

Hana got up from her seat and walked toward the old man and bowed. "Mr. Hosokawa, good morning!" She smiled bright, her eyes wandering to the back seat of his car. Her smile faded just slightly, and Hosokawa sighed after noticing that.

"I heard that the flight's been delayed for quite a bit, though I'm not sure how long that'll be," he began. He rubbed his hands together as he spoke. "I hate to do this to ya, but I need to be in the city for a get together with old pals. I just wanted to tell you that, uh, bringing her from the station's a little..."

Hana couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes, but her smile never wavered. "Don't worry about it, I'll find a way to get there." Hosokawa hesitated.

"Are you sure?" He asked. He continued to rub his hands, regretful of his situation.

"I'll be fine, things happen," she assured him, gently.

Hosokawa grumbled before stepping back toward his car. "Alright. Sorry, again, Missy. I really hate to do this to ya, I mean it..."

Hana shook her head. "It's alright. Thank you for coming all this way to tell me, I wouldn't have known Yuki's flight was delayed."

"Eh," The old man shut his door after entering his car and spoke through the window. "I actually didn't hear about any delay, but judging from those clouds, it's very likely." Hana blinked and looked up. It was true that the clouds looked very intimidating. A seed of worry was planted into Hana as she surveyed the sky. "Er, well, I'll go ahead now."

Hana blinked again and looked back at Hosokawa. "A-ah, yes, well I'll be seeing you then." She said with a bow. She listened to the car driving away before standing straight again. She turned to look at the table with her food. It's gone cold.

Hana's red truck arrived at the station. After she dressed for the cold and packed away the meal into the fridge, she called her work at the conservationist center and told them she was going to have to take the day off. She bid Wolfman goodbye and made her way to pick up her daughter. She thought about what she would say. How would they react upon seeing each other again? How long has the plane been delayed?

Hana stepped out and entered the train station. It was quite a number of miles away from her home, and she wondered if Yuki had arrived already. She looked around her, searching for a any semblance of her daughter. A cold wind blew, and Hana shivered. She sat on one of the benches, thinking it would be best to wait.

Hours passed. The air was freezing, despite the time being just after noon. Clouds completely covered the sky. Hana was adamant about waiting. She couldn't possibly risk missing her arrival. Train after train, she expected her daughter to walk through. Despite her wishes, she couldn't help but worry. Was her train delayed as well? Has the plane even left? Did something happen to her?

With all of these questions plaguing Hana's mind, she was starting to find it difficult to stay optimistic. She shivered in the cold and dug her hands deeper in her coat.

"Yuki," she whispered longingly.

A cold wind blew. Hana's eyes caught sight of something white floating in the air as the wind blew. "Oh..!" She turned around in her seat, looking up toward the station's entrance. She stood from her seat and walked up the stairs to see outside. Hana's eyes softened at the sight.

It was snowing.

"Mom?"

Hana gasped and turned behind her. Standing there was her little girl with her suitcases, all grown up. Silly smiles dawned on both of their faces.

"Yuki!"

"Mom!"

The young girl dropped her bags and ran up the stairs into her mother's outstretched arms. They held each other tightly, relief and joy coming over Hana's body.

Hana pulled from her daughter but didn't let go. Tears almost came to her eyes. "Welcome home, Yuki."

"I'm glad to be back," Yuki responded, feeling just as strongly as her mother.

The two hugged again, this time laughing. They felt warm in each others' embrace underneath the light snowfall.

 **Authors Note** : Hey all, thanks for reading up to the end, so far. I've a number of chapters planned for this, and I'll be updating irregularly throughout. The next chapters will continue after this one, and, who knows, maybe there'll be a surprise visit from a young wolf.

Please stay tuned, and reviews are much appreciated!


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